New Delhi (TIP)- India‘s economic growth or GDP slipped to 4.1 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2021-22, while annual growth stood at 8.7 per cent, according to the government data released on Tuesday. In the previous fiscal 2020-21, the economy had contracted by 6.6 per cent as the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted business activities. The growth was 20.1 per cent, 8.4 per cent, and 5.4 per cent, in the first, second and third quarters, respectively, as per the data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO). The gross domestic product (GDP) had expanded by 2.5 per cent in the corresponding January-March period of 2020-21, according to the NSO. The Economic Survey tabled in Parliament in February had estimated the GDP growth for the current fiscal (2022-23) in the range of 8 – 8.5 per cent. According to the NSO data, India’s real GDP grew to ?147.36 lakh crore from ?135.58 lakh crore in 2020-21.
The NSO, in its second advance estimate, had projected GDP growth during 2021-22 at 8.9 per cent China had registered an economic growth of 4.8 per cent in the first three months of 2022. Rising global commodity prices have sparked concern among policymakers, with the Reserve of India (RBI) announcing its first interest rate hike in nearly four years earlier this month. Government’s chief economic adviser V Anantha Nageswaran ruled out the risk of stagflation in India as the country is better placed than other nations. Stagflationary risk to India is quite low compared to other countries, he said. Stagflation is the phase when both inflation and unemployment rates are high with moderation in GDP growth. Prime Minister Narendra Modi‘s government earlier this month announced tax breaks to offset higher food and petrol costs. Consumer inflation hit 6.95 per cent in March, according to the Reserve Bank of India, which slashed its own yearly growth forecast to 7.2 per cent. Eurozone inflation hits record 8.1% amid rising energy costs Inflation in the 19 countries that use the euro currency hit a record 8.1% in May amid surging energy costs prompted in part by Russia‘s war in Ukraine. Annual inflation in the eurozone soared past the previous record of 7.4% reached in March and April, according to the latest data from European Union statistics agency Eurostat. Energy prices jumped 39.2%, highlighting how the war and the accompanying global energy crunch are making life more expensive for the eurozone’s 343 million people.